By 1917, many high-ranking German and Austrian government officials, including the new Austrian Emperor, had come to the conclusion that the Central Powers could not win and wanted to discuss peace terms.
Hindenburg and Ludendorff, however, insisted that victory was near and fought to remove defeatists from power in Germany and in Austria.
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Playlist:
Fanfare
Opening War Theme
Wiener Blut
Composed by Johann Strauss Jr. in 1873. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.
Tragic Overture
Composed by Johannes Brahms in 1880. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.
Closing War Theme
Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.
The empress Zita’s Brothers were in the Belgian army not the French because the house of Parma was a branch of the Bourbon dynasty (via the Spanish royal family which was founded by a grandson of Louis XIV). The third Republic had barred all Bourbons and Bonapartes and that caught the Parmese in the net
Thanks for including the photo of the new Austrian emperor and the archbishops (I’m guessing that is what they are). What I most like about it are the hats, the pointy beehive hats for the archbishops and the “Prussian-style” hat with cross for the emperor. To me, it looks like a spoof of turn-of-the-nineteenth century self-important elite who believe that they are chosen by God. I could see this scene as a Monty Python sketch.